Vehicle carrier

ABSTRACT

A carrier comprises an upper section, a rear section extending downwardly from the upper section and attached to a motorized vehicle and a pair of side sections extending downwardly from the upper section and each having a road wheel rotatably mounted on a lower end thereof. A plurality of winches are mounted on the carrier for attachment to a vehicle supported in the inverted, cradle-like structure formed by the carrier.

This is a division of Ser. No. 440,464, filed Feb. 7, 1974.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Partially assembled vehicles, such as wheel loaders, are oftentimestransported between assembly lines or stored in a manufacturingfacility. In conventional practice, cranes and the like have beenutilized to perform such job tasks. The use of such cranes is timeconsuming and sometimes subjects the workmen and transported vehicle toinjury or damage.

SUMMARY OF THIS INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide an economical and non-complexcarrier for expeditiously and efficiently transporting vehicles and thelike. The carrier comprises an upper section having a rear sectionsecured to its rearward end and a pair of laterally spaced side sectionsextending downwardly therefrom to form an inverted cradle. A road wheelis rotatably mounted on a lower end of each of the side sections andattachment means are mounted on the carrier for releasably attaching aload in the inverted cradle formed by the carrier. In the preferredembodiment of this invention, a lower end of the rear section isattached to a motorized vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects of this invention will become apparent from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the carrier of this invention,attached to a motorized vehicle, having a wheel loader suspended thereinfor transport purposes;

FIG. 2 is a reduced, side elevational view thereof, but with the wheelloader being illustrated by phantom lines;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view thereof, but with the wheel loader removedfrom the carrier;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a partially sectioned elevational view of a winch assemblyemployed on the carrier; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view through a wheel axle of the carrier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a vehicle carrier 10 is adapted to be pushed orpulled by a motorized vehicle or tractor 11, operatively connected to arearward end of the carrier. The carrier may be used to transport aload, such as a wheel loader 12, between assembly lines in amanufacturing facility or may be used to store the wheel loader. Thecarrier comprises a generally rectangular upper section 13 having a pairof laterally spaced and longitudinally extending members 14 and 15secured together by an intermediate first cross-member 16 and aforwardly disposed second cross-member 17.

A rear section 18 comprises a pair of laterally spaced members 19 and20, secured at their upper ends to the rearward ends of members 14 and15, respectively. The lower ends of members 19 and 20 are securedtogether by a laterally extending third cross-member 21 (FIG. 4)attached to motorized vehicle 11 by an articulated joint connection 22,including a vertically disposed pivot pin 23. A hydraulic cylinder 24(only partially shown) is pivotally interconnected between the carrierand vehicle for conventional steering purposes.

The carrier further comprises a pair of laterally spaced side sections26 and 27 secured at their upper ends between forward and rearward endsof upper section 13. The side sections extend downwardly from the uppersection to form an inverted cradle with the upper and rear sectionswhich is open at the forward end thereof. Road wheels 28 and 29 arerotatably mounted on the lower ends of side sections 26 and 27,respectively. The attachment means mounted on the carrier for releasablyattaching wheel loader 12 therein will now be described.

As more clearly shown in FIG. 4, a pair of anti-sway links 30 and 31have their rearward ends pivotally mounted interiorly on member 21 bypins 32 and 33, respectively. The length of each link may be adjusted bysuitable interengaging thread means (not shown) formed in a conventionalmanner between the case and rod of each link. the eye ends of the linksmay be normally held in place by a pin 34, adapted to attach the linksto a bracket B secured beneath the rearward end of transported wheelloader 12 (FIG. 2).

The attachment means further comprises four substantially identicalwinch assemblies 35, 36, 37 and 38 mounted at the corners of uppersection 13 of the carrier (FIGS. 1 and 3). Referring to FIG. 5, eachwinch assembly comprises a stepped-down planetary gear set 39 adapted torotate a cable drum 40, disposed interiorly of upper section 13. Thegear set is driven by an input shaft 41 detachably connected to anoutput shaft 42 of a second stepped-down planetary gear set 43. Gear set43 is driven by a conventional hydraulic motor 44 mounted exteriorly ofupper section 13 and integrated into the hydraulic control system ofvehicle 11 by suitable conduits and connections, not shown.

A housing 45 is secured on member 14 of the top section to carry cabledrum 40 on an inboard side thereof and motor 44 and its reduction gearset 43 on an outboard side thereof. the housing is tilted to dispose arotational axis X of drum 40 at an acute angle a (preferably selectedfrom the range of from 3° to 10°) with respect to a horizontal plane.Such disposition of the cable drum will thus pay out cable 46 which isentrained thereon substantially perpendicular to axis X and downwardlyand inwardly towards the center of the carrier to provide a straightline pull on the cable between the drum and wheel tractor 12 (FIG. 1).The free ends of the cables may be attached to the wheel loader in anyconventional manner, such as by hooks.

The attachment means may further comprise anti-sway means for preventinglateral movement of the transported vehicle, as illustrated in FIG. 6.Such means comprises a hand-operated which assembly 47 mounted in a boreformed through an axle 48, having wheel 29 rotatably mounted thereon.The winch assembly comprises a cable drum 49 secured on a shaft 50adapted to be rotated by a handle 51 (FIG. 4) and a suitably integratedplanetary gear set (not shown).

A tubular guide 52 is secured in axle 48 to guide a cable 53therethrough which is paid-out and paid-in by cable drum 49. A hookmember 54 is attached to the free end of the cable for attachment tosides of the transported vehicle 12. The FIG. 6 anti-sway means isduplicated on the opposite side of the carrier at wheel 28, as indicatedby numerals depicting corresponding constructions.

We claim:
 1. In a carrier mounted on at least one pair of road wheelsand forming an inverted cradle adapted to suspend a load therein fortransport purposes, the invention comprising anti-sway means disposed inan axle for at least one of said roadwheels adapted for attachment tosaid load.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein each of said anti-swaymeans comprises a cable drum and a cable entrained on said drum, saidcable extending through said axle to terminate at an inboard sidethereof.
 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein each of said anti-swaymeans further comprises a hook member attached to a free end of saidcable.